Oct 20 2015
Corning Incorporated, a world leader in specialty glass and ceramics, and ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences, an independent, non-profit research center based in Barcelona, Spain, announce a four year renovation agreement for the Corning Laboratory established at ICFO.
Since 2010, the collaboration has been the basis for numerous successful projects in the areas of photonics and surface technologies and has subsequently helped enable Corning and ICFO to secure their leading positions in surface science and technology.
The Corning-ICFO collaboration, which will now extend through 2019, includes sponsorship of a chaired faculty professorship, the Corning Surfaces Laboratory, and sponsored research projects of mutual interest. The chaired faculty professorship is occupied by Professor Valerio Pruneri. The Knowledge and Technology Transfer unit at ICFO and the University Collaborations department at Corning are playing a key role in maintaining and fostering this joint effort.
"Professor Pruneri and his group at ICFO are at the leading edge of research in optical physics and materials and surface sciences," said Aleksandra Boskovic, director, Optics and Surface Technologies, Corning Science and Technology. "This collaboration enables Corning to innovate with ICFO by exploring opto-electronic properties and applications for its unique materials."
Professor Lluis Torner, ICFO director, said, "The special relationship that ICFO shares with Corning through this partnership enables us to join forces to tackle truly relevant problems facing companies and society today. The innovative spirit and world-leading capabilities of the Corning team have already yielded great results. We are thrilled to continue working on projects that promise to greatly benefit both organizations."
"My group is looking forward to continuing the collaboration with highly qualified research scientists and leaders," declared Professor Valerio Pruneri, ICFO. "The results we have achieved to date demonstrate that this is a win-win for both teams. We are producing very exciting advances and are committed to continue working on projects relevant to the industry."
Salient examples of the important technological breakthroughs achieved so far include antireflection glass surfaces with almost zero reflection up to very large viewing angles. These surfaces have been combined with antiglare properties to achieve a display screen that is free of interference from ambient light. Other advances include a super-omniphobic glass window repelling water and oil, and a flexible glass substrate whose surface is electrically conductive, allowing low cost manufacturing of consumable electronic devices. All of these have been enabled by new designs involving ultrathin materials and micro-nano-structuring technologies, patented under the collaboration framework.
Source: http://www.icfo.es/